IU students start training with police academy

While most college students are spending summer days lounging around in pajamas for hours, 30 IU students are starting their days at 6 a.m. with push-ups, sit-ups and miles of running.\nAfter almost a year of training, participants of the IU Police Department’s Cadet Program have begun their final 14 weeks of training with the IUPD Police Academy, which started May 7 and will last until August 11.\nThe program allows full-time IU students to obtain accreditation as certified law enforcement officers along with experience in the law-enforcement field. \n“The cadet program is for full-time students,” Lt. Greg Butler said. “There’s not another one like it in any other part of the country or at any other university. The purpose of the program is to benefit the students. It also benefits the IUPD because we only have about 43 full-time officers; without our cadets we would not be able to service the community as well as we do.”\nCadets are recruited each September; students who will be IU sophomores or juniors the following year apply and are taken into consideration by the IUPD to be admitted into the program.\n“We look for someone who has average or high ethical standards,” IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said. “They’re chosen from a variety of academic disciplines. To have a more diverse staff, it’s better not to have any specific disciplines.” \nTwo weeks prior to their first year as a cadets, participants go through a training period where they gain access to working in the dispatch center, handle 911 calls, become certified in CPR and Automated External Defibrillator use and learn the basics of the job in order to work security for the following year. Cadets are then expected to work one year as security officers at various athletic events as well as at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation or the Student Recreational Sports Center. \n“(During our first year) we were thrown out into the public right away, so we were approached with questions we couldn’t answer,” said cadet Derek Baker, a senior who wants to work for a local law-enforcement organization. “It was a dramatic learning curve for us. I learned to be more (conscientious) with the public while in that uniform.”\nFollowing their first year as cadets, participants are entered into the 14-week Police Academy. \nAt the academy, each day starts at 6 a.m. with physical training. Students complete training in areas such as criminal law, traffic law, alcohol abuse, crisis intervention and crash investigation.\n“It’s overwhelming, but exciting at the same time,” said cadet Sofia Halvacs, a junior who hopes to start working at a local law-enforcement organization and work her way up to a federal organization. “You’re learning so much about what you are going to be doing in a few months.”\nThe IUPD’s Cadet Program offers participants certain advantages that other training programs do not, allowing them a leg up on competition when it comes time to search for a job.\n“A lot of people like the product we’ve produced, the individual that goes out to get the job,” Butler said. “We have a lot of departments coming to us wanting to recruit people from the academy to their department.”\nButler went on to explain that many well-known organizations are aware of the program, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service.\n“It’s a very collaborative situation,” Minger said. “It’s a very good thing for students to go through. When they leave here, they will become very marketable. They will be looked at as better candidates for employment. Not only are they trained, but they have on-the-job training and a college degree to go with that.”\nThough the academy just started, most of the cadets are pleased with how the program is structured and with their decisions to join.\n“I have a military background, and I am pretty impressed with the program,” Baker said. “It’s been a while since I have been in the structured environment. The demands and expectations are set high, and the last time I had that experience was when I was in the Marines.”